The present invention relates generally to music performance devices, such as music boxes, and more particularly to an improved music performance device which is capable of setting desired tone colors.
As well known, music performance devices, such as music boxes, include a scale plate (tone generator) having a plurality of reeds or thin vibrating pieces. Generally, such performance devices perform a music piece by the vibrating pieces being selectively picked or plucked via a vibrating-piece drive means, such as protruding pins of a rotating drum or star-shaped wheels, disposed in corresponding relation to the vibrating pieces. Tones thus generated from the scale plate are transmitted to a vibrating plate coupled to the scale plate or a casing of the music box, upon which the vibrating plate or casing is caused to vibrate and resonate so that the tones can be uttered with ample tone colors. In recent years, there has been known another type of music box, where the vibrating-piece drive means comprises electromagnetic solenoids or the like and the vibrating pieces are selectively picked or plucked by the vibrating-piece drive means being electrically activated in a controlled manner. With such conventionally known music boxes, however, there can be generated only tones of fixed or invariable tone quality and volume corresponding to the materials and sizes of the casing, vibrating plate and various other component parts; that is, the tone color can not be set or changed as desired by a user.
Also known is a music box, where a transmission means in the form of a resilient member is provided between the casing retaining the scale plate and the vibrating plate and where the resilient member has a slanted surface abutting against the casing and vibrating plate. Here, the abutting area of the slanted surface against the casing and vibrating plate is variable by changing pressure with which the slanted surface abuts against (i.e., is pressed against) the casing and vibrating plate, so that the tone volume and quality can be adjusted in accordance with a variation in the abutting area. However, this music box, including a single scale plate and a single vibrating plate, can only generate tones with invariable tone generating characteristics of the single scale plate and single vibrating plate alone, which would unavoidably lead to poor variation in tone quality (tone color). Although there has been known still another type of music box that permits tone volume adjustment by controlling an opening angle of an upper lid of the casing accommodating the tone generator, no tone quality (tone color) variation can be obtained by just adjusting the amount of tone emission through the opening formed by the upper lid.